Social Media in Business
In this course, we examine the organizational use of social media technologies such as photo and website editing, blogs, web analytics, and social networks, as well as the use of social media analytics to drive business strategy. More »
Participation
An important part of social media is participation. In this class we will participate in conversations using Twitter, Blogs, Facebook and FourSquare More »
Social Media Uses
One of the common uses of social media in business is for marketing and CRM. However it is also used for recruiting, HR, legal, product management and the supply chain. More »
Business Analytics
We will be using a variety of Business Analytics tools to monitor social media sources and understand how to use them to make informed business decisions More »
Facebook & Social Networks
This assignment gives you an opportunity to learn how to monitor social networks in a way that provides similar insight offered by more traditional environmental scanning methods. Students in this class will be expected to use Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and/or other social networks monitor the online conversation that has occurred about an organization or brand of your choosing during the upcoming weeks.
Over the course of the assignment, students must:
- Find and Follow or Like at least one social network page created by the company, brand or industry you are analyzing as a part of your monitoring/analytics project.
- Find at least 5 Facebook, MySpace or other social network pages created by fans or critics of your organization/brand.
- Post! Post at least 5 comments or questions on social network pages of your organization or the third party pages created by fans or critics of your organization, brand or industry.
The deliverables for this project will be:
- Your Facebook and/or MySpace IDs (used for the project)
- The social network page id for the page sponsored by the company, brand or industry that you liked or followed.
- A list of the 5 Facebook, MySpace or other social network pages created by fans or critics of your organization/brand you found.
- A list of the 5 comments you made on the social network pages you identified (and the urls of those pages).
- A data table summarizing 5-10 of the most useful nuggets of information found across the social media sites about your organization, brand or industry.
- The data table should have the following columns: Source, source credibility, date/time, comments.
- Source credibility is your estimate of good source of your information is. DO any numbers seem to be based on reality, is the source well known? The score can be a word (e.g. High Medium or Low) or a numeric scale, 5, 3, 1 (5 is usually best).
- Sample Data Table
These deliverables must be submitted via Blackboard on or before 11:59 PM on the due date for this assignment (which is the date of this post).
Tumblr and It’s Applications
When it comes to blogging and micro-blogging there are plenty of sites that offer blogging capabilities. There is WordPress, Blogspot/Blogger (sponsored by Google) and Movable Type, but not many people know about Tumblr, it’s actually not really a blog per say, it’s actually more of a micro-blogging platform which was created in 2007, emphasizing the ease of use when it comes to posting content. Being able to post content easily has been very beneficial to it’s users, making it easy to communicate a message, especially with the advantage of being able to view the posts of the people you follow in your dashboard on a ‘tumblelog’ as well as the ‘liked’ heart feature and the reblog feature. Sharing information hasn’t been easier.
Posting & Some Tumblr Basics
There are 7 posting options that are on the top of the dashboard that are easy to use, and are just one simple click away. Once you post your content it will appear in your tumblelog right underneath the posting options, and will get stacked on top on the other posts that are already appearing in your tumblelog from all of the people that you follow (as it can be seen below, that the posts are stacked).
Reblogs, Likes <3 and Notes
The point of the reblog feature is to basically repost what someone else has posted to your own ‘tumblelog’ and sharing the content with the people who follow you on tumblr. The more ‘notes’ a post generates the more it is getting circulated around the website, sometimes reaching well into the thousands of reblogs and ‘likes’. However reblog differs from the like feature greatly, for when you use the like feature no one really sees that pop up in their tumblelog, only that it is noted that another person likes something about the post. So as a business using tumblr, you can make posts that are related to your company and see how many notes that post generates. The more notes the better. You can also put the source of your content so that even if someone reblogs someone who follows you, they can trace it back to you and see more of your posts if that is what catches their interest. This can be seen in the image below.
Blog Archives
On the main blog you can also access archived messages a lot easier, since you can see which ones are images, text, videos, audio or a mixture. Makes finding posts easier instead of looking at over 200 pages (in my case over 200 pages for my main tumblr), especially since you can type a tag into the search bar in the archived messages and find all the posts associated with that tag that have been posted to that blog in that archive.
Highlighted Posts
Tumblr just recently introduced Highlighted Posts which are essentially posts that are flagged as ones being promoted with a red arrow pointing out the post that can be of possible interest, usually with some sort of personal message typed in the red arrow. All of these highlighted posts however are being paid for in order for them to get promoted. So as a business if you don’t mind spending a dollar to promote a product or service on tumblr, this is a great option to generate more notes on a post that you might have though wouldn’t get many in the beginning.
Tracking Tags on Tumblr
You can also track tags that people associate with posts. So if your business uses a certain hashtag on twitter and can be used on tumblr in the same manner (as it can be seen in the example below). All the user needs to enter is that phrase (with spaces in between) or keywords and everything that is tagged with that keyword is going to pop-up. However it must be noted that when you make a post you have to enter the tags that you want that post to be associated with otherwise your post isn’t going to be tracked with any tags.
In the example below you can see the tags that I personally track, and when I clicked on cherry blossoms, everything related to cherry blossoms pops up.
Facebook/Twitter Connections with Tumblr
Another great thing about tumblr is that you can connect it with your other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. From personal experience tweets and Facebook gets posts from tumblr automatically once it is set up, however Facebook does have a limit of how many tumblr posts they will have directly posted to your Facebook page. The reason why Facebook does this is so that you just don’t spam everyone with an overload of information from one site, since some people on tumblr make/reblog over 50 posts in a given day.
You can also make your tumblr available as a RSS feed. This is an excellent way to make sure that every social media outlet that you use gets the same information posted from one spot, and you don’t have to login into every site to update the same thing over and over again.
Having More Than One Blog on a Single Tumblr Account
Like most other blogging sites, you can also create multiple blogs on tumblr as well. Right next to your dashboard are the actual titles of the blogs that you have, if you only have one, then one that blogs title will appear but if you have multiple than they will appear side by side on the top. when you click on the specific title of the blog you can view all of the posts that have been made for that blog as well as who has liked and reblogged content. This is also the area where you can customize that specific blog to your liking, check messages sent to that blog, see how many followers you have, what posts you have queued as well as any drafts.
Overall tumblr’s ease of use and ease of sharing makes it easier for content to be shared and viewed. With the tumblelog, you get all the content that you want from the people you follow, making everything available in one place, instead of going through the hassle of going to a lot of separate pages. As a business you can post anything interesting about your business, from news articles to just photos of products, with the hopes of generating more notes and expanding your customer base worldwide.
Oh all the lovely joys of tumblr.
Sources:
My personal tumblr: http://verat.tumblr.com/
Idugboe, Douglas. “How to Use Tumblr for Your Business | Smedio.” Smedio I The New Media and Social Web Online Magazine. 27 Dec. 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://smedio.com/2010/12/27/how-to-use-tumblr-for-your-business/>.
How and Why Companies Blog
Blogging is an amazing asset for any company. The ability to connect with consumers in a personal, interactive manner is what social media is all about. Blogging gives companies several different avenues to advertise and educate consumers about their product or service, as well as draw attention and market their company.
HOW:
Businesses can use it as a platform to inform customers about their product or service. This avenue can include educational tutorials or FAQ forums. Another route can be to interact with consumers. This can include community chats that would allow customers to communicate with owners and other users. Companies can attach blogs to their main websites. Popular blogging tools are WordPress and Blogger.
WHY:
Companies primarily blog to get the word out about their product or service, but there are several other facets that are also reasons to blog. There are four top reasons I found for why companies blog:
• Targeting keywords and improving search engine rankings
• Attaching a personality to a brand
• Giving immediate updates
• Creating the image of an expert
Blogging can help bump search engine ratings by using keyword optimization. This is vital to companies because in an ever-changing Internet world being at the top of search engine results are important to drawing in customers.
Attaching a personality to a brand is also essential. Having a unique product outlook or personality can help your company stand out from the crowd.
The use of immediate updates can help a business give customers new information without a press release or going through a second party. Getting the word out quickly could help attract new customers.
Using blogs to create an expert image makes consumers more likely to buy a product or utilize a service. If a company can use a blog to sound more experienced than a competitor it gives them a distinct edge.
Research shows that blogging increases website visitors (55% more), inbound links (97% more), and indexed pages (434% more).
There are several additional reasons why a blog is important:
- Interact with clients and prospects
- Improve search engine rankings
- Spread the word
- Talk about more than just products and services
- Solve client’s problems
- Build trust
- Stay on top of your field
- Build brand
- Exercise your creativity
- Put a human face on your brand
- Proving ground
- Foundation for social media activities
- Differentiate from competition
- Educate clients, prospects, stake holders
- Increase traffic
- Make money
SOURCES:
•http://www.edelmandigital.com/2011/02/24/is-a-blog-still-important-in-2011/
•http://brianfisheredge.com/internet-marketing-news/plr-internet-marketings-blog-solution/
•https://www.socialtext.net/bizblogs/index.cgi
•http://www.dailyblogtips.com/why-companies-should-create-a-business-blog/
Week 6
Social Media Content (Blogging, Microblogging and Mulimedia):
Even before social media became popular, blogging was a growing trend. And though blogging was originally developed and created by individuals to share their experiences and expertise, it’s now become the center of many business’ social media marketing campaigns.
Microblogs differ from traditional blogs because they are much shorter in length; only about 140 characters (20-30 words) compared to 300+ words for the original form. However, with the growth of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, microblogging has become an increasingly important part of the social media marketing mix.
- Social Media Marketing, Chapter 10
Assignment:
This week we understand the importance of content and the role blogs and microblogs play within organizations.
- How an why might a company write a blog?
- Important considerations / tips for writing a corporate sponsored blog.
- How are companies are using twitter?
- How is multimedia used in social media marketing?
- What is the difference between a multimedia blog and a regular blog?
- What advantages does Google+ provide over/in addition to Facebook/Twitter?
- What is Yammer and how does it differ from Twitter?
- Case study describing a company’s use of blogs, Twitter or multimedia in their social media efforts.
If you want to present and write a blog post for this week’s topic please select an topic from the list above or choose some other current (2010/2011) topic related to social networks to speak and write on. Post a comment to this week (below) with the topic or case you want speak and write on. Every student presenting this week needs to present a different topic or case so look at what has already been selected before you make your choice.
When presenting a “topic” you need to have at least 3 external sources supporting your presentation.
When presenting a case, you may use the case list on the Resources page but you need to explicitly tie the case to the current topics for the week (how did that company do what we are talking about).
Use the category “blogs-microblogs” or “multimedia“ for this week’s blog posts.
How Businesses Use Facebook
Facebook has become a very important tool for companies. With Facebook a company opens up many opportunities to get their name to new people, keep their customers involved, and offer new opportunities for contests and give aways. It is now rare to see a business that is not on Facebook. I did some exploring and found that there are various ways that businesses use Facebook. One way is that companies who make and sell products make pages for that product and offer a few things to keep people interacting. The first product page I looked at was BlackBerry (www.facebook.com/BlackBerry) BlackBerry offered many things to keep the customers active on their page. First they used polls to ask certain questions about the products they offered. This keeps fans interested and active and keeps them visiting their page often. Next they used tabs to show products and promotions they may have. BlackBerry is doing a great job of keeping people involved with their product. Another Facebook I looked at was Betsey Johnson (www.facebook.com/xobetseyjohnson) where she uses tabs to show off products and offer coupons. Not only do products use pages to keep people interested but companies do too. Triad Dragons,(www.facebook.com/triaddragonsentertainment), a Colorado based entertainment company I work for uses Facebook often to promote events and show upcoming artists. Companies also post related links on their page to draw people into their page and keep the fan flow in. Event pages are useful to most companies for informing people when and where events are held. If a company makes a friends page and they come near the 5,000 friend limit they may want to consider creating a fan page which has unlimited likes. Facebook is a good place for marketers to go, and Facebook knows it. Facebook provides a page where you can go to learn more about Facebook marketing (http://www.facebook.com/marketing) they even provide a guide for how to better use Facebook as a marketing tool. Businesses can go here and lear all about how to market themselves on Facebook.
Week 5 Blog: Myspace Vs. Facebook
Miguel Alvarado
ISMG 3300
due February 16, 2012
Week 5 Blog post: Myspace vs. Facebook
More often than not, the people you socialize with regularly are also friends of yours on Facebook. Years ago, they might have been friends with you on Myspace, too, probably between 2002 and 2009. Times have changed, yet only one of these social networks bothered to keep up (at least, in terms of being a social network. More on that later). Nowadays a lot of people still use both but for completely different reasons; let’s take a closer look at them and dig out some key facts.
Myspace was the original king of the social-networking hill, back in the mid 2000’s. It was extremely popular for its slow loading times and unreliable network, among other things (Gold 1). At this point, most people didn’t understand Social Networking or know what to expect, which is where Facebook comes in. Coming to the rescue with more convenient controls and a very stable interface, it significantly raised the bar (Gold 1). From the time Facebook was born in 2004 it only took 5 years to overtake Myspace in terms of unique visitors (Prebluda 1), which is a critical statistic for a social networking site. Since then, it’s only been getting more popular, as the number of unique visitors continues to climb.(Prebluda 1)
The key tactic was adaptability- users were sick of Myspace’s inefficiencies & constant downtimes(Gold 1). The freedom that Myspace gave its users also took personal profiles to an entirely new level of obnoxious. On top of that, their company-controlled content was rarely refreshed. (Tsotsis 1) On the flip side, Facebook kept up with the times very closely, adding things like sleek interface modifications and text alerts to keep its arsenal strong.
This is not to say, however, that Myspace loses every battle. As it were, its current purpose is oriented around the arts and other pop media (Ehrlich 1), as opposed to being a standard social networking site. It’s no longer a rival to Facebook, as evidenced by their integrated systems- a user can sync up pages between the two sites. For example, if you have your band page on Myspace, you can sync it up with a corresponding Facebook page to help guide the flow of traffic.
It should be noted that another key aspect of Myspace’s failure was its target audience. Since the beginning, it attracted younger kids (middle schoolers and high schoolers roamed the Myspace streets more often than not) which also attracted the usual trouble of kids that age. Inevitably, their reputations were branded into Myspace, giving the entire site a trashy and unprofessional look. (Tsotsis 1) Comparatively, Facebook has been about college kids since the beginning (although recent policy allows users age 13 and up to join) which in turn, attracts a more composed, professional and mature atmosphere.
While the demise of one and rise of another seems inevitable, it’s the details and tactics involved which hold the most importance. I feel as though Myspace could have made it with a better tech support team and a better understanding of its users needs. Facebook excels quite well at these, and hopefully, it will keep an edge to maintain that lead.
Works Cited
Gold, Ben. “Facebook Hammers Myspace On Almost All Key Features.” Mashable Social Media. Mashable.com, 10 June 2011.
Prebluda, Aaron. “Facebook vs. Myspace: Tale of the tape.” Compete pulse. Blog.compete.com, 26 February 2009.
Tsotsis, Alexia. “Sean Parker On Why Myspace Lost To Facebook.” Techcrunch. Techcrunch.com, 28 June 2011.
Ehrlich, Brenna. “Myspace Sold To Ad Network For $35 Million.” Mashable Social Media. Mashable.com, 29 June 2011.
Week 5: Social Network Options in Different Countries
Introduction
If you ask anyone in the US what are the most popular social network options in the US, you will certainly hear Facebook , MySpace, and Twitter. However, they are rarely the most popular in the rest of the world (http://kathrynvercillo.hubpages.com/hub/12-Popular-Social-Networks-Around-the-World-That-Arent-Facebook-or-Twitter).
Some of the social network options around the world
- Tencent QQ: With 300 million active accounts, this is actually the largest worldwide social network, even bigger than Facebook. It is very popular in Mainland China.
- Orkut: It is highly popular in several other countries including Brazil and India.
- Hi5: It used to be very popular in the U.S.; it still has 2.5 million U.S. visitors each month. This is a small number compared to 46 million or more monthly visitors located in Central America and the North Western countries in South America.
- Yahoo! Maktoob: this is the world’s first Arabic social networking site. It has been around for several years (from 2009) and appeals to users who are interested in Arabic social content.
- Cyworld: very popular in South Korea. This social networking site is also available in Vietnam and China.
- Draugiem: It is the largest social networking site in Latvia.
- Hyves: This is a major social networking site in the Netherlands.
- Mixi: Mixi is the most popular social networking site in Japan.
- One: This is a social networking site that is popular in Lithuania.
- Friendster: It is very popular in the Philippines.
- Wretch: This is popular in Taiwan.
- Nk.pl.: is used in Poland.
- Bebo: In the United Kingdom, Bebo is the second best social network. The site boasts users from more than a dozen countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, Poland, France and Germany. (http://socialmediatoday.com/soravjain/195917/40-most-popular-social-networking-sites-world)
- Multiply: is a vibrant social shopping destination, but faster and more convenient, where sellers and buyers interact. Many shoppers in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have made the Multiply Marketplace a favorite shopping destination.
- Badoo: is a multi-lingual social networking website. It is gaining popularity in emerging markets like Russia and Brazil.
- SkyRock: is very popular in France and French speaking markets including Switzerland and Belgium. The site is also available in English, German, Dutch and Spanish.
- Netlog: is a Belgian social networking website specifically targeted at the European youth demographic. Netlog is pageview market leader in Belgium, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Romania and Turkey.
- Tuenti: is an invitation-only private social networking website. It is one of the largest social networking sites in Spain.
- Nasza-Klasa.pl: is the most used social networking sites in Poland.
- StudiVZ: is the biggest social networking site in Germany.
- Xing: It is popular in countries like Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy and France.
Questions:
- Have you ever used any of these popular social networking sites?
- What was your opinion of them?
Implications for Businesses
A business desiring to go global should take in consideration the social media preferences of the local customers and potential customers. Do not assume that similar countries will have similar social network preferences (http://brandpageplus.com/2011/10/10-social-media-strategies/).
Works Cited
Hazy. “10 Social Media Strategies.” Brand Page+. 2011. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://brandpageplus.com/2011/10/10-social-media-strategies/>.
Jain, Sorav. “40 Most Popular Social Networking Sites of the World | Social Media Today.” Social Media News, Strategy, Tools, and Techniques | Social Media Today. 6 Oct. 2010. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://socialmediatoday.com/soravjain/195917/40-most-popular-social-networking-sites-world>.
“Social Media Revolution = World Government « Call Center News « Marketing Experts.” Call for Peace. 10 May 2010. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://call4peace.com/blog/?p=286>.
Vercillo, Kathryn. “12 Popular Social Networks Around the World That Aren%u2019t Facebook or Twitter.” Weblog post. HubPages. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://kathrynvercillo.hubpages.com/hub/12-Popular-Social-Networks-Around-the-World-That-Arent-Facebook-or-Twitter>.
The World Map of Social Networks. Digital image. RIA Novosti. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://en.rian.ru/infographics/20110228/162792394.html>.
How can Facebook or other social networks be used to reach younger consumers?
Thanks to the rise in smart phones, social networks can be accessed anywhere and any time of day. This is good news for businesses wanting to use these sites to reach out to its media-savvy target audience. Currently in the United States, the largest age group is 18-24 with a total of over 37 million users (1). This large number of younger consumers has a lot of spending potential, so it is crucial that companies build loyal customers at this age through tools like social media. Since I am in this demographic, I know exactly what is going to best attract me when using social networks. For a company to effectively reach me through social media they have to do three simple things:
- Don’t bore me: I want to spend time on a Facebook page that I will learn something valuable, or see something that makes me laugh (after all, I go to Facebook to relax and have fun).
- Keep information short and concise: I don’t have time to read a lot of information about a product or business. I want to know important and interesting facts fast.
- Make it interactive (2): I like watching videos, taking polls, participating in contests/giveaways, and engaging in conversation. If a company makes me feel like my opinion counts, I am more likely to think highly of its products and services (and therefore, tell all my friends about it).
On a recent poll of “10 Top Facebook Pages and Why They’re Successful”, Red Bull was placed at the #1 spot (3). This company is #1 because it effectively is reaching its target audience through unique content and custom apps right on the page. From games and competitions to web TV on their Facebook, Red Bull is a leader when it comes to knowing how to reach young consumers.
What it boils down to is that a company not only must be active on social media, but it must be active in all of the right ways to best reach their intended consumers.
Check out all the buzz about Red Bull at: http://www.facebook.com/redbull
Resources:
1) “United States Facebook Statistics”: http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/united-states
2) “Engaging Young Consumers with Multiscreen Advertising”: http://www.alcatel-lucent-business-club.com/index.php?id=783
3) “10 Top Facebook Pages and Why They’re Successful”: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/top-10-facebook-pages/
Reasons why Facebook is Unsuccessful for Businesses
In today’s fast-moving world Facebook and other forms of social media have greatly impacted the way peers interact with one another. Smart companies have taken notice to this change in communication and peer interaction and have invested in developing their own niche into the social media forum.
In the last few years I’ve noticed a change in how some businesses are taking the proactive steps in creating online, interactive, strong connections with their consumers. Although there have been over 500 social media websites developed within the last decade… websites such as Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube, and Twitter have been the most utilized by the public. Each source of social media has its own benefits to site users, but as a business owner you must analyze which site(s) would be most appropriate at reaching your target market and also align it with your own individual marketing strategy goals.
Due to the overwhelming success of such brands as Coca-cola and Dunkin Donuts, branding from social media has seemed like a quick and easy way to gain notoriety and increase customer traffic. Unfortunately businesses are jumping on the “social media bandwagon” without enough prior knowledge or expertise on how to appropriately use social media for their maximum benefit. The fact is–Most companies aren’t fully prepared to integrate social media into their business structure when they do decide to make the next step into this interactive world.
So what happens when businesses don’t receive the positive feedback from social media that they were hoping for? Just give up? No. The reality of the matter is, a consumer may “Like” your Facebook page but unless you develop a strategy to create excellent customer service and build a true “relationship” with that consumer…long-term success of brand loyalty is not possible.
Listed below are the top 4 reasons I believe Facebook pages don’t work for businesses:
- Maintenance and upkeep: This is a common problem I’ve seen; businesses set up a page and tells everyone to “Like” them, then just forget about it. Facebook pages for small businesses that have become “online clutter”. It’s wasted space and makes your business look unappealing. The idea of “build it and they will come” is not true here. If your page lacks upkeep then failure is doomed to occur.
- Broadcasting it and constantly “trying to make a sale”: Instead of actively participating in two-way communication with “fans” and making an effort to build deep relationships with the people who enjoy your business, you are constantly tweeting or posting a sales pitch to get people to buy the “next best thing ever”. It’s plain and simple, people aren’t interested! Social media sites have finally given companies the ability build human connections with their customer counterparts in real time. If you don’t utilize this opportunity appropriately you will not retain your customer base.
- No desire to be “followed”: Businesses become boring, repetitive, or never produce a noteworthy “call for action” to get consumers energized for upcoming events and giveaways. Businesses on Facebook should strive to provide continued content that’s valuable to its fans.
- Missing out on creating an “optimal brand experience”: Do away with a generic page! There are numerous ways companies can leave fans with a “Wow” impression. Take a look for yourself. Things such as incorporating blogs, discussion boards, include a free app. These are all features on your page to leave consumers wanting to come back for more!
These are just some of my ideas behind the sources of failed Facebook pages, but what’s your opinion?
—————————————————-
Links I found useful:
- Topic: Small Business tutorial/help for creating a Facebook page– http://www.facebook.com/SocialMedia4Hire
- Topic: Top social media websites for businesses– http://www.socialmediaonline.com/21-popular-social-media-websites-for-business/
- Topic: Social Media mistakes made by Businesses– http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/marketing/article/top-5-facebook-marketing-mistakes-small-businesses-make-leyl-master-black & http://www.zoomfactoronline.com/2011/01/04/2011-predictions-top-12-reasons-businesses-will-fail-at-social-media/# & http://www.mediabadger.com/2012/01/why-small-business-fails-in-social-media/
- Topic: Successful Social Marketing Campaigns– http://www.businessinsider.com/8-winning-social-media-campaigns-that-worked-for-big-corporations-2011-4#solicit-suggestions-and-feedback-from-your-social-media-followers-3 & http://blog.thoughtpick.com/2009/06/10-social-media-campaigns-that-rock-learn-how-to-do-the-same.html
- Topic: Social Media influences in B2B environment– http://blazonco.com/blog/article/-social-media-for-b2b-companies
Week 5
Social Networks in Business
This week we will learn to evaluate the use of social networks in a business context and see how they encourage interaction and conversation. We will look at popular social network sites in the US (e.g. Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn) as well as examining uses of social networks in other countries. We will also see how these networks provide quantitative information about how a brand product or service is being viewed.
Reading:
- Social Media Marketing, Chapter 9
Assignment:
Presentations:
If you want to present and write a blog post for this week’s topic please select an topic from the list below or choose some other current (2010/2011) topic related to social networks to speak and write on. Post a comment to this week (below) with the topic or case you want speak and write on. Every student presenting this week needs to present a different topic or case so look at what has already been selected before you make your choice.
- How are companies using Facebook pages?
- Reasons why Facebook pages are unsuccessful?
- Comparison of Facebook to MySpace and/or LinkedIn
- How might you use LinkedIn to promote your business?
- How can Facebook or other social networks be used to reach younger consumers?
- The implications of the new Facebook timeline for users/businesses.
- Social network options besides Facebook in different countries (e.g. Badoo).
- Cases related to a company’s use of social networks as a part of their marketing or other social media efforts.
When presenting a “topic” you need to have at least 3 external sources supporting your presentation.
When presenting a case, you may use the case list on the Resources page but you need to explicitly tie the case to the current topics for the week (how did that company do what we are talking about).
Use the category “social-networks” for this week’s blog posts.
Analytics/Monitoring Project Topic Proposal
This semester we will be using social media tools and analytics to analyze a product, brand or company’s social media use, monitor social media conversations about the product/company and competitive position. This week you will need to pick a product, brand or company and their respective industry to look at early in the semester so that you can use some of our upcoming assignments to better understand the domain you have selected (before doing the actual analytics/monitoring project paper in several weeks). Once you have selected a domain you will want to write a sample topic proposal describing what you think is interesting about the product, brand or company you selected. In the topic proposal you will identify key search terms for your client. Don’t just rely on the organization’s name. Include things such as the CEO name, product names, or issues. Use the sample topic proposals below as a guide for creating the one for your project.
For my assignment I would like to write about Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is one of the dominant users of Facebook and other social media tools. I would like to address the questions: How does Coca-cola uses social media to interact with customers? How does Coca-Cola leverage social media to improve brand loyalty? What are people saying about Coca-Cola online via social media? What does the general use of Social Media in the soft drink industry? What are the demographics of the soft drink industry? How does Coca-Cola’s fans on facebook compare to the fans (demographics) of near competitors?
The key search terms I plan to use as a part of this project include: Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, polar bear can …
Select a company/brand from the list of active in social media companies/brands (below) or choose some other company/brand to analyze this semester (with my approval). Post a comment to this assignment (below) with the company or brand you want to evaluatee. Every student needs to profile a different company or brand so look at what has already been selected before you make your choice.
The topic proposal must be submitted via Blackboard on or before 11:59 PM on the due date for this assignment (which is the date of this post).
Active Social Media Companies/Brands
- Starbucks
- McDonald’s
- Buffalo Wild Wings
- Chik-fil-A
- Taco Bell
- Pizza Hut
- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
- Dunkin’ Donuts
- Dairy Queen
- Victoria’s Secret
- ZARA
- H&M
- Levi’s
- Burberry Group
- Forever 21
- Gucci
- Abercromby & Fitch
- Adidas
- Nike
- Puma
- Vans
- American Eagle Outfitters
- Old Navy
- Hot Topic
- Express
- Hollister Co.
- Nordstrom
- bebe
- Banana Republic
- Wal-Mart Stores
- Target
- Kohl’s
- Best Buy
- Amazon.com
- Toy’s R Us
- JC Penny
- Sears
- Lowe’s Home Improvement
- Zappos.com
- Whole Foods Market
- Southwest Airlines
- Expedia
- Carnival Cruise Lines
- JetBlue Airways
- Visit Las Vegas
- United
- Virgin America
- Delta
- Princess Cruises
- Hotel Urbano
- Windows
- PlayStation
- Dell
- Harley-Davidson
- BMW
- Ferrari
- Mercedes-Benz
- Audi USA
- Porsche
- Jeep
- MINI
- National Geographic
- Vogue
- The New Yorker
- TIME
- Runner’s World Magazine
- Rolling Stone
- Us Weekly
Week 4
Social Media Channels:
This week we learn how to develop a framework for a social media marketing strategy. We will look at the different social media channels and begin to learn the differences between how we can different types of social media to engage with customers.
- What is the social feedback cycle and how is it used?
- How does social media impact the purchase funnel?
- Which Social Media Channels Should You Be Using?
- What kinds of content works well on different social media channels?
- What should you take into account when writing for the web?
- How do different companies (see cases) use different social media channels to implement their social media strategy?
Guest Speaker Thursday:
- Luke Wyckoff, Social Media Energy
Reading:
- Social Media Marketing, Chapter 8
Assignments:
- No assignment this week.
Presentations:
- No Presentations (Guest Speaker instead).
Blog/Presentation Assignment
Each student is responsible for making two short 2-4 minute presentations to the class during the semester and writing a short blog post on the same topic. Students need to sign up for two different weeks to make presentations/blog posts by clicking the links to each week and posting a comment for that week below. The goal will be to have 6 to 7 presentations each week for weeks 5-15 (except for weeks with a guest speaker).
Students must also submit a list of the weeks/topics they will be posting for via Blackboard on or before 11:59 PM on the due date for this assignment (which is the date of this post). Students will not receive credit if they are the 8th student signing up for a given week or if they choose a topic already selected by another student (based on the date stamp for the comments).
In-Class Presentations: Presentations will be given on Thursdays and will discuss current issues (from blogs/other press) related to the current week’s topics. Presentations should highlight the issues raised in the article, blog or case they are presenting and relate it to the social media topic under discussion. Students will be expected to document their presentations in the class blog (below)
Grading Criteria:
- Quality: Presentations are substantive (thoroughly developed – use multiple sources)
- Presentation materials: Presentation is well organized, uses professional presentation materials(e.g. PowerPoint)
- Self-presentation: Presenter presents self well, dresses appropriately, appears well prepared/practiced.
- Thought leadership: Presentation demonstrate your understanding of the topic/issue
Class Blog: Student in this class will contribute to a multimedia blog set up specifically for the course, to discuss their reflections on the topics covered and to document what they discussed in their in class presentation. Students must contribute a post for each of their in class presentations, however; feel free to contribute at other times as well if you find something relevant to post. Posts must be between 300 and 500 words and may include pictures or multimedia elements.
Grading Criteria:
- Quality: Posts are substantive (thoroughly developed – roughly 300-500 words)
- Self-presentation: Post are well written (organization, grammar, spelling)
- Thought leadership: Posts demonstrate your understanding of the topic/issue
- Attribution: Posts link to all facts, figures, quotes and statements used
- Tags: Posts should use tags (chosen by you) and the category for the week (see weeks below) to appropriately classify the post topic.
- Level of engagement: Blog attracted an audience & comments (adding images can help with this)
Blog posts are due by midnight on the day of the student’s presentation (this will vary depending on the week that the student signed up for). Presentation materials should be uploaded to blackboard by midnight on the day of the presentation as well.
Sign Up
Please click the links below to sign up for the 2 different weeks you want to make a presentation for:
- Week 5
Social Networks in Business This week we will learn to evaluate the use of social networks in a business context and see how they encourage interaction and conversation. We will look at popular social network sites in the US (e.g. Facebook, MySpace ...
- Week 6
Social Media Content (Blogging, Microblogging and Mulimedia): Even before social media became popular, blogging was a growing trend. And though blogging was originally developed and created by individuals to share their experiences and expertise, it...
- Tumblr and It's Applications
When it comes to blogging and micro-blogging there are plenty of sites that offer blogging capabilities. There is Wordpress, Blogspot/Blogger (sponsored by Google) and Movable Type, but not many people know about Tumblr, it's actually not really a bl...
- Week 7
Reviews, Ratings & Recommendations This week we seek to understand the power of the word of mouth. There are hundreds of online review/rating and recommendation sites, especially when you factor in industry-specific review sites (Edmunds.com f...
- Week 8
Location-based Social Media: Location-based applications, particularly geolocation social networking apps, are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their approaches to grouping people and encouraging social behavior. Geolocation, to be sure, was ...
- Week 9
Social Media Analytics: Social media has become an increasingly important source of website traffic. This also creates a massive demand for data related to social media. Where are users coming from? What topics excite them? These are questions that,...
- Week 11
Social Media Strategy This week we will discuss how different social media components support an online marketing effort. We will learn how to select business objectives, define your audience, add touchpoint and social feedback cycle, an identify ap...
- Week 12
Social Media, Personal Branding and Recruiting Personal branding is essential to career development because it helps define who you are, what you stand for, and what makes you unique, special, and different. This information is increasingly used a...
- Week 13
Other Uses of Social Media in Business Social media is not just used for marketing and recruiting. Companies are increasingly turning to social media to innovate products, to respond to customer complaints, and to do PR. This week we will be looking...
- Week 14
Privacy, Security and Ethical Issues As social networks like Facebook and Twitter become ingrained in our daily lives, we need to understand the risks and take steps to change the way we interact on the Web. After all, our privacy and security on th...
- Week 15
The Future of Social Media The past year saw many new developments in online marketing, including evolving organic and paid search landscapes, convergence of social media and search marketing, growth of mobile and local searches and a rapid rise in ...
Week 3
Social Media Metrics:
This week we understand the social feedback cycle and the role of social media in developing positive relationships with customers – both from a marketing and operations perspective. We will also begin to look at metrics that can be used to measure the effectiveness of social media.
- The social feedback cycle
- Influence and the Social Web
- What kinds of metrics are available/relevant for social media
- Why metrics are important
- How metrics map to the social feedback cycle
Reading:
- Social Media Marketing, Chapters 5&7
Assignment:
Presentations:
No class on Thursday – so no presentations.
Account Sign-up
All students in this course will be expected to sign up for a Twitter account, and actively follow discussion under the #UCDSMIB hashtag. Where possible and appropriate, live tweeting will be encouraged during class to comment and ask questions about the material being covered. Links to topical readings may also be communicated via Twitter from time to time. There will also be a twitter assignment later in the semester. The account must be publicly visible (unlocked). You may use a pseudonym and limited bio information to protect your privacy if you wish, but I must be informed of your ID so I can add you to the class list. The account must have at least a brief bio note, and a photograph or other avatar (not the Twitter default).
See https://support.twitter.com/articles/100990-how-to-sign-up-on-twitter for instructions on how to sign up for twitter.
Class Blog
Students in this class will contribute to this blog set up specifically for the course, to discuss current topics covered in this course. For this assignment, students must sign up for an account (http://dawngregg.com/smedia/wp-login.php?action=register). The account will be publicly visible (unlocked). You may use a pseudonym and limited bio information to protect your privacy if you wish, but I must be informed of your ID so I can give you credit for your posts and comments. Ideally you will use a similar account ID for both your twitter and blog account. The account will use the photograph or other avatar associated with your Twitter account, For this to work correctly you must provide your Twitter user name in your blog profile.
Class Facebook Group
Students in this class will need to join the Facebook group for this class. This group will be the central meeting place for the class. New blog posts for the class will be summarized in the group as well as announcements related to class activities. For this assignment, students must sign up for a Facebook account (if you do not already have one), browse to the group home page (http://www.facebook.com/groups/ucdsmib/), and ask to “Join the Group” (upper left corner). The group is a private group, so I will need to add you to the group once you request to join. If you use some name for your Facebook account other than the name you are enrolled in the class under, please let me know the name that you are using so I will add you to the group when your request comes through.
See https://www.facebook.com/help/signup for instructions on how to create a Facebook account if you do not already have one.
The Twitter ID you select, your Blog ID and your Facebook user ID must be submitted via Blackboard on or before 11:59 PM on the due date for this assignment (which is the date of this post).
Week 2
What is different about Social Media?:
“Social media” and “Web 2.0″ refer to Web sites that people use to share information and ideas. What’s different about social media Web sites is that the users of the Web site, not the owners of the Web site, provide the information for others to read, share, or mix (“mash up”) in interesting ways. The most exciting possibilities are when people find entirely new ways to use information that offer novel insights or ways to solve problems.
Social media allows companies and brands to connect with their customers and other company stakeholders. A resounding 85 percent of companies surveyed about their social media use say that the platform has created buzz for their businesses. Other benefits include the fact that social media increases web traffic and opens opportunities to build new partnerships. More than half of companies indicate that social media generates good sales leads. In addition, social media can improve search engine rankings, and reduce overall marketing expenses.
Reading:
- Social Media Marketing, Chapters 4&6
Assignment:
Presentations:
No presentations this week.
Week 1
Introduction to Social Media:
Social media describes the online tools that people use to share content, profiles, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives and media itself, thus facilitating conversations and interaction online between groups of people. These tools include blogs, message boards, podcasts, micro blogs, lifestreams, bookmarks, networks, communities, wikis, and vlogs.
Reading:
- Social Media Marketing, Chapter 3
- Social Media Marketing 101
Assignment:
Presentations:
No presentations this week.
Welcome to “Social Media in Business”
Welcome to the “MKTG 3300 & ISMG 3300: Social Media in Business.” In this course we will be doing a lot of interesting things using social media technologies and tools. This blog will serve as a page where course announcements, information and material will be presented. You can find the syllabus, class schedule, list of assignments, and other resources . You will also be contributing blog posts related to a variety of social media topics on this blog, starting in week 5.
Feel free to use the comments function below to ask general questions about the course. Depending on the nature of your question, though, you may be better served by using the #UCDSMIB hashtag on Twitter (for timely inquiries), our Facebook group, asking in class, stopping by my office hours, or emailing. There are plenty of ways to find out what you need to know.
I wish you productive and enjoyable time in this course.
Dawn Gregg
Associate Professor of Information Systems and Entrepreneurship
